The Preliminary
by thebluepencil
Summary: Troy Bolton and Ryan Evans never were the best of friends. But they were definitely not enemies. That was until one of them got the girl they were both after, Gabriella Montez. May the best man win.
1. The Preliminary

Troy Bolton (I)

"So what's the answer to this one?" I frowned, attempting to fake concentration.

I heard her sigh silently. "Well if you take the cube root of x here, and then move the y onto the other side..." she explained, using her pencil to point at various factors in the equation.

I watched her soft mouth speak freely, but ignored the drone of mathematical words pouring out of them. She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as though the maths problem had offended her somehow. Then she smiled in realisation, talking more exuberantly, and pointing at the paper more fervently...

_Troy_.

I thought dreamily of how she managed to sugar-coat my name merely by stating it.

_Troy_. Mmm...

"Troy!"

"Whaa-" I jumped out of my daydream.

"You're not even listening!" she pouted.

"Brie of course I am! You just said to divide by the square root of x, and then substitute to find y." She didn't have to know that I've been scoring consistent high A's in maths ever since I first held a pencil.

She frowned suspiciously at me. "Yes. And that's the answer." She pointed to her working out.

No, actually it's not. You forgot to square the x before substituting. But I smiled nonetheless. "Thanks Brie, you're the best!" I kissed her on the cheek, making her blush.

"Ermm I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" she gathered her books, and bit her lip shyly.

As if it was even a question. "Of course! And Gabriella?"

"Yes?" her muffled voice sounded from under the table, as she attempted to retrieve a stubborn pen.

I chuckled, crawling under myself. I found the pale blue Stanford pen easily in my reach, and held it out to her. "Will you go out with me?"

She looked up to meet my gaze in shock, hitting her head hard on the bottom of the table, which caused her to fall onto her ass. "Ow..." she laughed through the momentary tears that hung in her eyes.

Not exactly how I imagined it to go. I shook my head slightly, and pulled her into my lap. She lay her head in the crook of my neck, and I could feel her breathing regulate as she relaxed against me. I, however, couldn't relax. "I'd hate to break this moment Brie, but you kind of still owe me an answer..." I played with her small hands in mine, anxiously.

I felt her smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Ryan Evans (II)

"Ellaaaa" I dragged out her name, pouting, as she closed her notebook before I could read the next part.

"Ryaaaaan" she mimicked me, doing a better impression of a persuading pout. "Get your own book."

"But I like reading yours." I told her truthfully, making her blush a little, to my satisfaction.

"Evans, Montez – stage, now." Ms Darbus interrupted commandingly.

I rolled my eyes, and pulled Gabriella up by the hand.

The previous shocking blue stage lighting mulled down to a warm amber, and faint sounds of the waves on the shore could be heard in the background. Our hands never left each other.

I looked at the nervous girl in front of me, waiting for a sign. Gabriella never did like the dancing scenes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, before finally nodding her head without uttering a sound. I clicked my fingers dramatically, and pulled her close to me, trying to ignore the effects that her light touch had on my skin. She gripped my arm and looked dead into my eyes without a blink. Our bodies moved in sync with the scratchy music – faster, slower, in constant contact. My character coercing hers out of her shy shell. Her heels clicked on the wooden flooring tirelessly, not a step out of beat, following my lead. Time for the climax of the song. She spun wildly away from me, until only our fingertips barely touched. I pulled her back roughly to me, before all contact was lost.

"You're right." She whispered breathlessly, her lips inches away from mine. "There could never be anyone but you."

And for a moment, I believed those words to be true.

An unsteady applause began in the audience, dragging us back to reality. Gabriella jumped away from me bewilderedly, letting go of my hand as if it burned. My hand instantly felt empty, and I ruffled the back of my hair with it, just to use it.

"Well done everybody, that's enough for today. We're back here tomorrow for Act 2: Scene 4." Ms Darbus announced, looking at just us, obviously unsettled by what she had witnessed.

"So, Gabriella... Do you need a ride home?" I turned to her, breaking the awkward silence.

She looked at me with wide eyes, before registering what I said. "Oh no, it's okay. Troy's giving me a lift once he finishes basketball practice." She said hurriedly.

"Troy's over there." I murmured lowly, jerking my head in that direction.

She gazed over at where I had pointed. "Troy!" she shouted in surprise. "I thought you had 20 more minutes of practice"

He walked up to us casually, and gave her a lop-sided smile, "I would've but practice was cancelled, so I was just doing my homework at the back, waiting for you."

She stepped closer to him, smiling. "You didn't have to wait for me. Ryan could've given me a ride home."

_Yes, Bolton, I could and would've with pleasure._

"Eh, it was no trouble Brie. Besides I actually got homework done, and I get to spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend." He put his arms around her waist. They stared at each other for a few sickeningly loving seconds.

_Wait... Girlfriend?!_ "Girlfriend?" I asked neutrally.

Troy looked over to me, beaming. "Oh yeah, we got together earlier on today. Finally huh?" He tickled her lightly, and she giggled in response.

"Yeah man, congratulations." I forced a smile.

He smiled genuinely in return, too nice to see anything amiss "Thanks dude. You'll find your girl soon." He hit my arm good-naturedly.

I nearly choked. My _girl_ was his. "Yeah hopefully." I kept the smile on. I glanced at Gabriella, but she pointedly avoided my gaze, biting her lip. "Well I've got to go now, see you around Bolton. Bye Ella." The nickname slipped by accident.

"Later Evans" Troy nodded, still grinning.

I began to walk away.

"Goodbye Ryan."

_"Think twice before you touch my girl,_

_Come around and I'll let you feel the burn" _

_- Eve 6_


	2. Nearly Incestuous

Sharpay waltzed into the twin bedroom, her silver high-heeled cowboy boots sinking into the lush cream coloured carpet. She appeared seemingly oblivious to her brother's presence in the room as she threw her school handbag on her bed and began to fix her hair, despite the fact that the loud clanking of minor scales on the piano could be heard from the grounds of the Evans' mansion, never mind being a metre away.

The baby grand suddenly jerked to a halt mid-scale. Then began a low, dark variation of Mozart's Requiem.

"Jeez Ryan, isn't there a more subtle way of announcing your upcoming suicide?" Sharpay's feminine tone cut through the lingering pedal notes.

Ryan banged on the piano in frustration, and turned to glare at his twin. "What do you want Sharpay?"

She gave a too-innocent smile in response. "Just to see how you are dear brother."

"Busy." Was the short reply, before the piano started sounding once more.

Sharpay was never one to give up easily. Especially when the subject of the challenge was Ryan. She walked up behind him, and started stroking his dirty blonde hair, a shade exact to her own. She felt him still immediately, and smirked.

"Go away Sharpay. " he warned her lowly, making her smile even more.

She held her right hand out in front of him, reminding him. He sighed and kissed the palm of it lovingly, just where a jagged scar lay below her thumb. He had a scar too, nearly identical, but on his left palm. They had been six years old, on one rainy afternoon, when they decided to take the meaning of 'identical by blood' further and swear themselves to each other for life. Nothing to be kept between them.

"Gabriella." Ryan stated simply.

Sharpay withdrew her hand from his grasp. "What of girl number two?" she asked spitefully.

Ryan couldn't help but smile at the obvious jealousy in her voice. "Bolton's."

"Désolé." She said, unconvincingly.

His anger flared up at this. "Cut the crap Sharpay Evans! You're not sorry in the slightest."

She frowned down at him. "That's where you're wrong _Ryan Evans_. Your interests are my interests."

"Even when it comes to loving _'girl number two'_?" He cocked an eyebrow cynically.

She bit her lip hard to stop the first flying remark coming out. Her honey brown eyes stared coldly into space.

"Thought so." The words were soft, but contained heavy disappointment. The piano started playing again, ending the conversation.

Sharpay's eyes began watering in frustration. She couldn't help it. She just couldn't understand, nor did she really want to understand Ryan's complete infatuation with the brunette geek. The way his voice mellowed every time he spoke her name, the doodles of her quotes in his maths book, even the fact that his compositions now revolve around G major – he thought Sharpay wouldn't notice, but she did. She more than just _noticed_, she became obsessed herself. That this _girl_ was going to take her place as the main priority in Ryan's heart. Where she had been for the last 16 years and 34 days. So easily replaced by_ Gabriella Montez_. Sharpay couldn't understand it; the only boy she had ever liked was Troy Bolton. And even that was for convenience – after all East High's prima boy and prima girl belonged together. But if she was true to herself, she never really did have an attachment to the boy, he was too insecure for her (need a partner to audition? Please) and she certainly did not _love_ him by any standards. The only boy she ever loved was Ryan.

"I'll do it. I'll help you get your girl" she whispered, and Ryan almost missed it due to its low decibel level delivery not accustomed to Sharpay.

As it was, all he could do was stare at his twin in shocked silence.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry this chapter was so short, I didn't quite realise how short it was until I uploaded it. The next one's much longer.**


	3. Fabulous

Sharpay Evans was never a person for charity cases. As far as she was concerned, if you work hard, you'll get it. If you don't get it, you're evidently just not good enough for it. But she also knew that when it came to her twin brother, her life rules could and would be broken within a split second for him. And she hated that fact with a passion.

She stormed down the hallways of East High with a purpose: to find Troy Bolton. She didn't know _what_ she was going to do when she did find him – that fact at the moment was irrelevant – she just knew that all this commotion began with the 'Golden Boy', and the beginning was a very good place to start. But for someone so well known in the school, he was proving to be very hard to find. And Sharpay Evans was definitely not a patient person.

"Zeke!" she shouted commandingly at the tall figure in front of her.

"Sharpay." He said her name dreamily, turning to her. "I baked some more chocolate chip cookies for you. Your favourite" He handed her a brown paper bag.

"Where's Troy?" she demanded, whilst sampling one.

The smile instantly left his face. "Probably in the gym, shooting a few free throws."

She spun around on her heels at this, and headed towards the Sports Block, swinging the paper bag at her side, without so much as a smile or 'thank you' for the smitten basketball player.

* * *

Boyish laughter and the sound of bouncing basketballs could be heard from the gym as Sharpay approached, and she stopped herself short of entering the stadium, where her stiletto lime green Jimmy Choos would undoubtedly attract their attention. Plural.

"3 days till Summer..." she heard Troy muse, as he shot a perfect basket.

"I can't wait for it! It's going to be majorly hyped up this year man! Wildcat champions, no more homework, basketball 24/7, Taylor finally my girlfriend..." And Chad. "Of course there's the downside of seeing my mum around a lot more, but-"

"Haircut?" Another basket.

Sharpay suppressed a giggle at the picture of Chad Danforth getting a trim.

"Ugh don't remind me bro. That woman is pure evil, I tell you. But I guess all women are." Chad dribbled the ball, before shooting.

"Don't let Taylor hear you say that, she might take your 'haircut' matter into her own hands." Troy told him firmly.

"Don't think I don't know it. That girl's going to be death of me, I swear. It almost makes me seem whipped."

"There's no seeming about it, you are whipped." Troy stated, casually.

Sharpay had to agree with this one; _whatever Taylor McKessie says, Chad Danforth obeys._

Chad threw a basketball hard at him, which winded him slightly. "Oh, and what about you. 'Brie baby, just wanted to see how you are'" he gave a ridiculously high-pitched impersonation of his best friend.

"There was never going to be any use denying it." Troy stated, smugly.

Chad made a sound of disgust. "You, my friend, are going to be the downfall of our sex."

Troy laughed. "It's a small price to pay for having Brie as only my girlfriend, and no one else's."

Sharpay couldn't work out if he was just trying to wind up Chad, or was always this nauseatingly sweet. She hoped to God it was the previous, the latter was just unnatural.

"I can't hear any more of this!" Chad proclaimed dramatically, rather Sharpay-like.

More laughter, and free throws.

"So this summer, my cousins and I are heading down to our ranch again to chill out, play basketball, swim in the lake... play more basketball. You're coming right Bolton?" Though it came out as more of a statement than a question.

"I don't know man, it'd be awesome to go to play basketball all summer at your getaway like before, but I promised myself I'd get a job this summer so I can fix my truck up and take Brie out of town" Troy tried slowly.

_Money?_ Now that was definitely something Sharpay knew about...

"What?! You're going to workall summer?! What's the IQ elevated girl done to you? Cos this does not sound like the Troy Bolton I know...." Chad said in disbelief.

"Things change, people change. As you pretty much proved from that sentence – '_IQ elevated'_? Hanging out with Taylor _much_?" Troy chided, passing Chad the ball.

"Don't avoid the subject! Speaking of Tay, she's coming up to the ranch as well-"

"What's she going to do there?! It's a house full of basketball fanatics and a basketball court. Go figure what's going to happen there."

"God knows. She asked me if the internet there was broadband, which it is, and apparently that's sufficient enough – _don't change the subject!_ Anyway she'll probably persuade Gabi to come too, since they're practically inseparable-"

_Oh no you don't Danforth. _"Troy!" Sharpay announced her presence, her heels clicking loudly on the polished floor.

"Evans, you know you're not allowed any marking shoes on here – and that includes stilettos." Chad nodded to her heels, smirking.

"Shut up Danforth, I wasn't talking to you." She turned back to Troy. "I've been trying to find you _everywhere_! Daddy's personal golf coach is on tour this summer, and finding a replacement has been _such_ a drag. But then I thought, what about Troy Bolton, junior state golf champion?"

"-Sharpay" Troy tried to cut in.

"...And Daddy agreed that would be utterly fabulous, and we simply _must_ have you. So-"

"Sharpay..."

"That's a yes right? Fabulous. I'll email you the directions and all the boring terms and conditions later." She finished with a victorious smile directed at Chad.

"_Sharpay." _Troy mumbled wearily. "That's really nice of you and everything, but I was kind of looking for more of a paid job this summer. You see-"

Sharpay laughed hysterically, causing both of the boys stare at her with slight fear. "Oh you are _silly_. Did you think it was a _volunteering_ opportunity?"

No one answered her.

She rolled her eyes humourlessly, and turned serious. "You'll get paid at least fifty dollars for every hour you work, and more with tips. Very generous tips."

Chad let out a low whistle. Troy just looked dumbfounded.

"You're not honestly going to back out are you?" she was truly quite offended that he was even thinking of rejecting her offer.

Troy looked at her thoughtfully. It was more than what he had been wishing for, that was for certain. Being paid a bucket load to play golf all day – what self respecting teenage golf-pro would want to turn down that offer? But there was still one more condition...

"Well?" Sharpay pushed, disliking the silence that fell, and getting more offended by the second.

"Do you happen to have space for another extra placement?" Troy asked delicately. "The person's completely trustworthy, I swear. Straight A's, musically talented, hard working, you could place her anywhere and she'd fit in." He ended hurriedly.

Chad groaned, and hit his head with the basketball he was holding.

_Gabriella._ Sharpay shook her head knowingly. This was turning out better than she thought it would. Like a mouse just falling into the trap. Only Troy would put his girlfriend first before a big opportunity like this, naturally.

"Of course! There's always room for one more at Lava Springs_._ And with someone like that, how could I possibly refuse? Oh, it's all going to be _fabulous_."


End file.
